a capitol hill grilling for secretary of defense nominee chuck hagel. we're watching for threats of a filibuster after senators came at hagel really hard, raising concerns about past statements and positions on iran and israel. hagel spent much of the day defending his record. one gop member says hagel appeared weak and wobbly, it appears his nomination is safe. more from chris lawrence. >> reporter: they attacked chuck hagel from all sides. >> why do you think the iranian foreign ministry so strongly supports your nomination to me secretary of defense? >> reporter: calling him soft on iran and tough on israel. >> name an example of where we've been intim dated by the israeli jewish lobby to do something done. >> i can't give you an example. >> reporter: at times he stumbled through his answers and had to repeatedly correct himself. >> by the way, i've been handed a note that i -- that i misspoke. >> reporter: leading one senator to say -- >> i wanted to clarify the clarify. >> reporter: in the muddle, some things became clear. hagel supports a negotiat